Dad's Blog

This is a picture of my sister and I. On the back of the picture, in my Dad's handwriting, is a list of everyone that he wanted to have copies of the picture printed for:

Flo
Dorie
Helen
Mom
Edie
Albert
Abbie
Lill
book
extra

I'm sure that, along with the picture, each person would have received a long letter full of news, and that no two letters would have been the same. My Dad was a master of communication.

Lately, I've been thinking about what he would do if he were here to experience the world of blogging. I'm convinced he would have his own blog where he would post all sorts of interesting tidbits about life in general. He would use it to keep everyone up to date on what twists and turns the lives of my sister and I were taking, and would include interesting little tidbits about not much of anything at all.

In some ways the blog is a 21st century version of the kind of letter writing that my Dad used to do. He wrote often, and wrote long newsy letters filled with his thoughts on a wide range of subjects.

The other thought that occurs to me as I ponder my Dad's hypothetical blog, is that none of the people whose names appear on the list on the back of the picture are still alive. The world today, is nothing like that simpler time when my Dad took negatives to the drug store to have copies made for family members.

How sweet it would be to turn back time for just a little while.

11 comments:

Angie Ledbetter said...

Sure would be nice to time travel just for a bit. Nice post.

Terri Tiffany said...

I love this peek into who your dad was and how he would fit into this world. SOunds lik a man I would have like!

Joanne said...

I miss those days of dropping off your film/negatives, but I dropped them in the mail to a film developing service. I find now I rarely develop my pictures on my memory card into photographs. :(

Anonymous said...

Life has really changed and sometimes I wonder if it really is all for the better, as "they" say.

The art of letter writing is fading day by day. My 88 year old Granny continues to write letters to those family members living outside the state.

Thank you for sharing a great memory of your dad. And I bet his blog would have been very popular with the bloggers out there.

Janna Leadbetter said...

That is an amazing photo - I love it! And it sounds like your dad was quite a beloved character. Good post!

Donna M. Kohlstrom said...

Thanks for sharing your memories of your dad. Family pics sure do stir up lots of wonderful memories! I loved the Kodak camera where you saw the picture, first as a blur, and then in slow amazement, watched it develop into a treasured moment.

Patty H. said...

great photo.
Yes, times have changed. I was thinking of this when I posted the picture of me on my blog. Wondering where that innocent happy child went.

Melissa Amateis said...

Oh, I hear you. I am trying to recreate a tiny bit of that world in my life - just living simpler and trying to find the joy in small things, like letter writing!

Pat's Place said...

I am glad that we have blogs now. I feel like I am, in some small way, carrying on the letter writing that my mother and grandmother did in the past to keep loved ones and friends informed of what is happening in our family.

Hill Country Hippie said...

That's how my blog "Seasonality" got started. I've always loved writing , and receiving, letters. When we found this place in the Texas Hill Country, I started writing monthly letters to friends and relatives, telling of our adventures here. Eventually the mailing list got so unwieldy that my husband convinced me to switch to a blog format. The old folks still get their updates via snail mail though. By the way, I think my sisters and I had Christmas dresses almost identical to yours as kids.

colbymarshall said...

It would be very nice. Your dad sounds like a fun fellow. Thanks for dropping by my blog, btw! Come on over anytime :-)